You wake up and get out of bed like it's safe to Leave the house & walk around town like it's safe to
You daydream about someone you love Your face makes expressions That broadcast your feelings You tell other people your opinions like it's safe to
You spend money You jump and leap in ballet class You get on the subway or bus like it's safe to
You write poems Watch a movie or read a book Drink the water from your faucet like it's safe to
You let the cat lick your face You let the cat sleep with you You love the cat like it's safe to
You imagine your life improving You try to like yourself Pen love letters and send them like it's safe to
You cut your heart out and hand it to someone Go to the bathroom every 2 hours Post your photos on Facebook like it's safe to
You replay the tapes that make you mad Hold a grudge or hate a person Reach out for someone’s hand like it's safe to
You make a to-do list You do things on the to-do list You let things slide on the list You make plans like it's safe to
You admire certain people You desire certain people You respect some people like it's safe to
You try to deny your feelings and fail You're furious and scream like a banshee You jump in a lake when it's hot like it's safe to
You request people to listen to you You make demands You need and want things like it's safe to
A future
Don’t try to slip a future past my tightly pressed lips. They are closed. Stop trying to pry them open with your spoonful of medicine. Oh, did I imply the future you want to feed me is a dose that should go down better with sugar? More like the liquid opiate I was given after surgery. Trying to loosen my inhibitions and take advantage or just give me a high so wonderful and dangerous I'll become addicted? I'm not hungry for your future. I'm starving in fact, but who cooked that future and how long has it been sitting out on the counter? It could poison me. Let me look it over and sniff it first. Maybe I'll drop it on the floor and see if the cat likes it. If my cat doesn't like it or you, that's a big no. I'm not sure I can swallow such a large future. Let me break it off in small bits. Can you make a drawing, provide me a hand-drawn map? In fact, put it in a leatherbound book but also a digital version I can load on my tablet. Always get your future in writing in multiple formats. I ran out of future so the past came crawling back but I sent little elves to erase it from every copy in all libraries and tear my pages from the encyclopedias. They told me it was a waste of time, no one uses encyclopedias anymore, most don’t even know the word, and anyway it was shredded long ago. But the mother who doesn't exist except in the mirror told me do the job right or don’t bother.
DIY MFA 